Hero MotoCorp resumes operation after 6 weeks as lockdown restrictions ease

India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp has resumed production at three facilities across India after coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased starting on Monday (May 4).

The company issued a statement saying it has restarted production following the guidelines stipulated by the government.

Hero MotoCorp commenced operations in a graded manner at three of its manufacturing plants – Gurugram and Dharuhera (both in Haryana), Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and additionally the Global Parts Center (GPC) at Neemrana in Rajasthan. These manufacturing plants reopened from today and production at these facilities will commence from Wednesday.

The company allowed only essential staff to work at all the other facilities and corporate offices, observing social distancing and all prescribed safety measures. The remaining employees across all locations in India will continue to Work from Home (WFH) till further notice.

The Company’s other manufacturing plants have also obtained the necessary permissions to reopen and these will commence operations after most of the supply chain partners of the Company get the permissions to operate. The Company’s R&D facility – the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) – has also received the necessary permission to reopen and will resume functioning soon.

Hero MotoCorp had halted operations across its manufacturing facilities from March 22. With the easing of restrictions in several parts of the country, most of the Company’s extensive customer touch-points, including dealerships, workshops and the secondary network, are expected to open gradually from today onwards.

A business restart manual has also been shared with all the dealer partners of the company and they are restarting operations as per the government guidelines, after obtaining the necessary permissions from the local authorities.

In April, Hero MotoCorp did not manufacture any vehicle. During this time, Hero MotoCorp - along with other Hero Group companies - has been engaged in a host of social welfare work, setting aside a corpus of Rs. 100 crores for the relief efforts towards Covid-19, including a contribution of ₹50 crores to the PM Cares fund. The company also donated over 2000 motorcycles to authorities, distributed sanitisers, face-masks, and developing engineering solutions for public safety.

Hero MotoCorp has also specially developed two-wheeler first responder vehicles and the production of 60 such vehicles will start this week. These vehicles will be distributed to the local authorities in the remote and inaccessible areas across the country.